FinMin: Centre wants to bring petrol and diesel under GST but Congress adopting double standards on issue

The Finance Minister (FM) Nirmala Sitharaman said on Friday that the Union government wants to bring petrol and diesel under the Goods and Services Tax (GST), but the Congress is applying “double standards” on this issue. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the central government have always supported bringing petroleum items under the GST framework because it will benefit the people.

According to the minister, Who are the persons who are preventing the introduction of GST to petrol and diesel? If Priyanka is in favour of bringing petrol and diesel under GST, she should ask every state government in the Congress to agree to it in the GST Council.

Nirmala Sitharaman added that the media should confront Congress about its “double standards.” Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Congress national secretary, has been criticising the BJP governments at the centre and in Madhya Pradesh over inflation during her campaign rallies ahead of the state’s assembly elections on November 17.

When asked about the economic implications of the Israel-Hamas conflict, the finance minister stated, “Ever since the Russia-Ukraine war began, there has been continuous speculation about crude oil prices, and we have been dealing with it.” You should be aware that we have imported cheap Russian crude oil. Whether it is the Russia-Ukraine war or the Israel-Hamas war, any war in the entire world has the potential to affect crude oil prices. “We have already been keeping a close eye on the situation,” Sitharaman remarked.

For a long time, the government has been taking steps to control the rise in the prices of tomatoes, flour, pulses, and other daily necessities, she said, noting that food inflation was above 10% for 22 months under the Congress government and it was unable to control it.